You know fall is around the corner when the kids return to school. Even though the days can still be warm and balmy, the early mornings and evenings are cooler, sometimes requiring a jacket or light sweater. Since Tessuti is my current go-to company, I was intrigued by this little number. What caught my attention in particular was the raw edge binding around the neck, hem and sleeve edges.

The Silva Shirt Jacket is described as:

… relaxed, collarless style can be worn as either a jacket or shirt. It features three quarter length sleeves, a curved hem with raw edge  binding on neck, hem and sleeve edges that over time creates a fringed detail. The Silva Shirt Jacket has been designed to fit neatly across the shoulders giving it a slim and flattering fit. A perfect trans-seasonal garment, it’s best made up in linen, light weight wool crepe or wool gauze, silk crepe de chine and silk double georgette. Not suitable for stiff, thick or jersey fabrics.

The Tessuti website shows this garment made up in what looks like crinkle linen of which Gala has 2 different weights – the crinkle linen and the crinkle linen gauze. I decided to try the Silva in a grey (a neutral alternative to black) crinkle linen gauze. As per the measurements on the sizing chart, I made the size 16.

Since I launder my garments (I prefer not to dryclean), I washed and dried my fabric. I am often asked how to treat the texture in the fabric especially since the texture becomes more pronounced after laundering. I always say, “Have the fabric as you mean to have the finished garment. If you want texture in your finished garment, then don’t press the fabric before cutting out your pattern.” If anything, I may lightly press out any wrinkles that are not part of the texture. Most of these crinkle fabrics seem to become more tightly crinkled near the selvedge, so I try to even out the texture so it approximates the rest of the fabric.

The cutting out and putting together the body of this garment was pretty simple. I did use a wash away stabilizer (Tessuti lists vilene which is a tear away) for the seams. This way I knew the seams were not going to grow as I sewed. When pressing your seams flat, try not the touch the wash away stabilizer with a hot iron as the product could stick to your iron.

One point I did have to consider was how to interface the front facing for the buttons and button holes. Was I going to use a fusible interfacing? If so, do I press the facing fabric flat? Given the sheerness of the fabric, do I use a black fusible interfacing and have it shadow the front of the garment?

Heeding my own advice of go as you intend to finish, I decided to use a sew in interfacing of beige silk organza. The fabric texture is unaffected and the colour of the organza is unobtrusive so as not to shadow through to the front of the garment.

Cutting out the bias strips for the trim was another point for reflection. Since the strips are quite narrow (2cm wide or 7/8″) I found it difficult to get consistent widths using scissors. Instead I used a rotary cutter and cutting mat. I also used flat head pins so I could use a ruler to get straight edges.

Part of the construction of adding the bias strips involves ironing. Yes, you will flatten out the texture and possibly give yourself a wavy edge, but once you wash the finished garment, the texture returns.

And here is the finished garment. Note the fringe like edge of the washed bias trim. This goes in the KEEP pile for me!

If you are not familiar with them, Sewing Workshop is an independent women’s clothing pattern line that is owned and designed by Linda Lee out of Topeka, Kansas.  Linda Lee’s experience as an interior designer gives her a unique background in teaching the art of combining fabrics for the fashion conscious sewist.  This pattern line is described as something:

“for the modern sewer who is interested in architecturally interesting styles to flatter with flare,”

Marilyn Carter, our guest speaker for the trunk show, has a lifetime of sewing experience.  She spent many years as a rep for Husqvarna sewing machines.  Even though she is retired now, Marilyn still likes to keep her sewing machine humming with sewing stylish clothes that she can claim that she made herself.  One of the reasons why she represents Sewing Workshop patterns is because she likes their style although Marilyn has been known to make slight changes to the design to suit her taste.  The trunk show is her way of sharing her passion for sewing and her successful design adaptations with other sewists.

Many of the loosing fitting, elastic waist pants, like the Picasso pants (above) , are very baggy.  A very easy pattern to construct, Marilyn likes to use a stretch woven fabric instead of a regular woven fabric.  This way, she can decrease the overall hip width of the pants for a slimmer fit.  By using a stretch woven, you don’t need the extra ease required from a regular woven fabric.  You can use the same elastic waistband treatment as the pattern describes or Marilyn likes to zigzag stitch the elastic waistband to the top of the pant waist and then fold down the elastic to the inside of the pants. 

One hint when sewing a corner angle in a light weight knit, such as in the Picasso top, is add some light weight interfacing to the open “L” shape (plain grey fabric) so the corner doesn’t stretch.  The right sleeve was sewn without the interfacing and the corner doesn’t lay flat.  The left sleeve was sewn with the supporting interfacing and it does lay flat.  If you use a sew-in interfacing, you can clip back the excess interfacing to the stitches to decrease bulk.

One of Marilyn’s favorite patterns is the Tremont jacket.  She has made this design both as a jacket and a vest by removing the sleeves.  To finish the armholes as a vest, and because the armhole comes to a V not an underarm curve, use a wide (2-3” wide) self fabric bias tape.  You can either attach the bias tape before sewing the side seams (such as the black and white vest) or you can make it into a facing (white and green vest)

Check out this version of Tremont!  Out of a cream boiled wool, Marilyn eliminated the facings and hem allowances.  She made the sleeves extra long as insurance should the garment shrink when washed.  Although the fabric was washed and dried before being made up, Marilyn has sometimes found sleeves to shrink more.

Ever have a problem of heavy garments stretching while on the hanger?  One helpful guest shared a tip.  Matching the shoulder seams, fold the garment in half.  Drape the folded garment over a padded hanger so the hanger hook sits just under the armhole.  No stretched out shoulder seams!  Works for sweaters too.

Frankie (below) is a close fitting design.  Many of the other designs in this line are very loose fitting.  Not this one!  Check the finished measurements to make sure you pick the correct size.  This is an easy design to construct with some interesting sleeve details.  Be sure to mark your left and right sleeve as they can be easily confused!  Made using a shirting cotton, it only took Marilyn a couple hours to put this one together.

Using some stash fabric, Marilyn made Fillmore (above) from some white stretch linen and a small piece of striped Italian wool.  An easy pattern to construct, it is certainly a statement piece!

Pearl (below) is an oldie but goodie.  One of Marilyn’s favourite fabrics to make this design is (mustard) boiled wool.  All the seams were topstitched down but left unfinished as boiled wool does not unravel.  It is washable and dryable but make sure to preshrink the fabric as it can shrink up to 40%!  When adding the buttons and button holes on Pearl, Marilyn added support by stitching a piece of self fabric to the back. 

Again using boiled wool, this is the San Diego jacket (above) done as colour blocked.  As an alternative to button and button loops, Marilyn made the white tabs which are then added on top of the jacket front.  She also removed the bulk of a facing.

 To make the tabs, cut 2 rectangles about 4” or 5” x 3” (depending on the size your button).  Placing wrong sides together, stitch along the long center leaving a 1” gap (again depending on the size of your button) about 2/3 from one edge.  Fold out along the stitch line.  Edgestitch around the outside of the tabs.  Attach to garment.

This is the Barcelona top using a colour blocking method.  Use a light weight knit otherwise the cowl neck becomes too bulky.  The V neckline is slightly off center front so it adds an interesting detail.

The Soho (below) is another Marilyn favourite.  She has made this design many times out of different fabrics.  She prefers to shorten it because she herself it not tall.  Again, another easy pattern to construct.  The blue and black zebra is a flocked taffeta.  It is slightly water repellent so it is great for our wet West Coast weather. 

The grey/cream is also Soho out of a wool blend.  Cozy for the colder months, it is quick to make as it is unlined.  Note the unique fastening.  A metal bracelet!

The black jacket with the light grey applique (below) is also Soho just without the hood!  This design came about after finding a book by Alabama Chanin.  Marilyn went on a small applique kick after reading that book!

The Flatiron (right) is another easy pattern to put together.  Again, out of some boiled wool, this is neither the long or short version as shown in the pattern.  This length came about because Marilyn used the entire piece of shrunken boiled wool that she had on hand.  In some ways, this is similar to San Diego but with more overlap.  A fun closure is a pretty brooch!

One of the preferred fabrics for Chateau is boiled (lime green) wool.  This pattern has instructions on how to sew using overlapping seams for non-fray fabrics or it provides sewing options if using fabrics that fray.  The pocket can be somewhat scary to approach as you are cutting into the jacket fabric, but the instructions are easy to follow so go forth with confidence!

This is another version of Chateau.  Marilyn had this remnant piece in her stash.  She really liked the ruffled selvedge so thought it would be interesting down the front of this design.  Unfortunately she didn’t have enough so the design came out much shorter.  But it has a cute retro 50’s vibe!

As an experiment, Marilyn also made Chateau using a printed polyester georgette.  A pretty piece as a summer jacket or swimsuit cover!

Memphis (below) is another oversized garment from Sewing Workshop.  Marilyn cut about 3” off the ‘wing’ side.  She also shortened the hem band to a finished 2” band.  The short sleeves are actually made using the Mixit sleeve pattern.  (Marilyn likes Mixit as a great staple pattern.)  One can easily interchange pattern pieces between different patterns if they are all by the same company as the same design block is used throughout.  Regarding the short sleeves, on this design, Marilyn actually sewed 2 sleeve patterns back to back (self lined) so she wouldn’t have to hem.  If you do this method, make sure you cut 4 sleeve pattern pieces!

The neckline is finished using a Marcy Tilton method. (Check out Vogue patterns) Marcy likes to cut wide knit neck bands the same size as the neck hole so there is no stretch to fit.  This way, the neck band almost has a cowl finish look.

If you are interested in any of these patterns or you would like to be informed of her next trunk show, Marilyn can be reached at thematerialgirls@shaw.ca.  She lives in Maple Bay, BC so we often host her at the store.

Well, it’s official.  Gala Fabrics has fully entered the 21st century!  Kicking and screaming, mind you.

The new website launched yesterday. Take a look through and tell me what you think.  (Update August: Unfortunately, we had to switch back to the old website as there were some fundamental issues that had still to be fixed.)

For the online shopper, the new site is not much different from the old site.  The biggest difference is having real time inventory amounts showing up both on the website and on the floor.  No more forgetting to update the website when we sell out of fabric in the store. You will also note that there is more inventory on the website since we are working on putting EVERYTHING on.  It’s not fully complete yet, but we are getting there!

To celebrate, I did finish the Butterick 6551 dress.  It is a quick and easy dress to make, perfect for that vacation to the tropics or a visit to your local farmer’s market.

Butterick describes it as a:
Very loose fitting dress has neckline and hem variations.  B, C have shaped hemlines

Given the description of “very loose fitting”, I took a look at the finished bust measurement.  My 100cm bust measurement indicated I should be making a size L (16-18).  But when I took a look at the finished bust, the size large would be 123cm which I decided was too loose fitting for me.  I ended up making the size M (finished bust of 113cm)  I used this stretch woven rayon challis print that has a small spandex content in it.

Everything else is straight out of the packet – no adjustments.  Although I typically like a slightly long length of dress, this is cute for the summer.  I also like the cut in detail of the shoulder.  One thing I might change on the next rendition is to make the collar a bit narrower.  I have a short neck so felt this mandarin collar was up to my back hairline.

Here is one little tip to make your life easier when turning the facing on a deep V neckline.  When you attach the facing to the neckline and you are stitching the V, instead of coming to a point at the bottom of the V, make it a shallow U by stitching 2 or 3 stitches across the bottom.  This gives some space for the fabric to turn and sit smoothly.  Also remember to shorten your stitch length.  I usually shorten my stitch length when I get to about 1.5cm before the turn point and not increase my stitch length until about 1.5cm after the turn point.  This helps stabilize the fabric and lessen the fraying potential when you clip the seam allowances.

Thumbs up for this design although I may have to work on evening out my farmer’s tan!

Clear your calendars!  We have a lot of events planned for this month.

We will be hosting our free sewing forum again on August 4 at 11:30am.  This is where sewists can meet fellow enthusiasts to discuss all things sewing.  Bounce sewing problems off others who may have dealt with the same issue.  Share fabric store finds from foreign countries.  Share and show off some successful sewing projects to inspire someone else.  Always fun and informative.

On August 17 at 10:30am, we will be hosting Marilyn Carter and her Sewing Workshop trunk show at the store.  Marilyn is our local distributor of Sewing Workshop patterns.  For those of you who are not familiar with this independent pattern line, here is a great opportunity to check out the designs.  Marilyn has made up all of these patterns and has sometimes added her own design details.  The garments will be available for you to try on and Marilyn will be available to discuss ideas.  This is a free event so seats fill up quickly for this popular showcase.

Last but not least is the Fibrations Fibre Arts Festival.  This is free event hosted by Knotty By Nature held at the Fairfield Gonzales Community Place (1330 Fairfield Road, Victoria) on August 18 from 10am to 4pm.

Fibrations is a community-based celebration of fibre that includes knitting, sewing, weaving, spinning, dyeing, felting and embroidery to name a few. The day will feature up to 60 vendors (including us) sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm through free demonstrations and hands-on-activities. 

Hello, all! I have to say, June has been quite the month! So I’m still working on the new website. Having to deal with both hardware and software issues, as well as making sure everything is cohesive both in the store and online, is so frustrating for me! All that computer speak is like a foreign language – much like the Chinese language is to me. (Cantonese is my father’s language, and even though I spent part of my schooling in Hong Kong, I didn’t speak Chinese. I was enrolled in a British school where everything was taught in English and second language choices were French or German.) I know how to order a simple meal in a Chinese restaurant, my numbers, and basic pleasantry phrases but anything more is beyond my capabilities. Trying to figure out this computer stuff is just the same. I’m getting a crash course, but really, I’d much rather be sewing!

What are you planning for the long weekend? Any sewing projects lined up? Have you discovered any new pattern companies that you like? I’d love a distraction from the interminable computer stuff.

I recently purchased Butterick 6551 which is labelled as Fast and Easy.

I hope to squeeze in some time to whip that up since the weather forecast is for 20*+ for the beginning of July. Can’t be wearing Tessuti all the time!

If you need a new project, the store will be having a summer sale starting July 2. Find some new fabric (check out the new linens we got in recently) as all regular priced fabric be 25% off with a new selection on the 70% off rack. If you are a web site shopper, use the code SUNSHINE for sale prices. Sale ends July 7 which also coincides with our July sewing forum.

In a sewing slump? Join our free forum on July 7 at 11:30am for some sewing inspiration or to just chat with other sewing enthusiasts.

Happy sewing!

Well, tomorrow is the first day of summer and we have been getting some nice sunny weather. It has got me inspired to take a break away from the computer and make some summer dresses.

As you may have noticed, I have been inspired by Tessuti patterns of late. They have some different styles that are not complicated to sew which is always a nice when your sewing time is limited. Granted, there are some times when I appreciate the more complicated sewing projects that involve intricate hand sewing details or complicated puzzle pattern pieces, but nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment when you can give that garment a final press before wearing it to work or for a night on the town. And the faster that can come about, the better!

The Coni tunic was released at the beginning of this year. Since Australia’s seasons happens opposite to Canada, it was still cold and rainy when I downloaded this pattern. But hope springs eternal and I figured I would need that time to get to that pattern anyway!

From their website, the Coni tunic is described as a:

” …. relaxed tunic-style dress features a wide neckline, dropped armhole with sleeve bands (optional wide or narrow width), stitched down side seam pockets and side splits. This tunic can be worn on its own or over pants and makes a great beach cover-up. The perfect addition to your summer holiday wardrobe. Note: The Coni Tunic can also be modified into a top. “

Given my bust measurement of 100cm or 40″, I chose to make size ‘2’. The sizing on the Coni has different parameters than some of their previous patterns. My first garment from them was the Pia Dress of which I made the XL based on my measurements and that JUST fit.

I had a piece of this printed linen in my stash. I felt the large scale print would work well with the large pattern pieces. The construction was fairly straight forward however, I wouldn’t call the finished garment a resounding success. Personally, I felt a little overwhelmed by the relaxed-ness of this garment.

So I thought to try again but in the size smaller. Since I’m loving the crinkle linens we have in the store, I decided to copy Tessuti and make it in a white crinkle linen.

One construction challenge in using the crinkle linen was using the self fabric bias tape to finish the neckline. The crinkle linen has so much texture! Do I keep the crinkle texture or do I press it flat? Sewing in the tape would require a lot of pressing so if I kept the crinkle, the tape would grow. If I press the fabric flat, then wash it after it was sewn, would it crinkle up too much? This was supposed to be a quick project!

I decided to hedge my bets and go with a light weight cotton batiste as a bias trim. I chose light weight since I didn’t want to add too much bulk. And although subtle, this batiste had a jacquard stripe which is always pretty on the bias.

Once the garment was done and all the seams and hems were pressed, I threw it in the wash and dryer again to bring back the crinkle.

Much better! I feel like I’m wearing the garment, not swimming in it 🙂

Change is in the air here at the store. I haven’t had much time for sewing lately as we are working on a new website. Although visually the new site will not look much different from the current site, all the big changes will be behind the scenes.

One of the biggest changes is a live integrated inventory system. This way when a fabric sells on the floor, anyone who is using the website can see how much is left. But that also means new equipment, such as a scanning device and bar code printer; training on the new equipment; measuring and assigning a bar code to all the fabrics and notions; and inputting all this onto the new website. Phew! To put that into perspective, the current website has more than 1600 entries. But that is less than 1/4 of what we have on the floor!

Onwards and upwards as they say.

Not that I’ve completed neglected my sewing. Two family members have announced they are expecting. One (my sister) is supposed to be delivering at the end of this month. My sister-in-law is due mid-November. Since she and my brother were in Hong Kong with me back in February, the family laughingly teases them that this baby was Made In China!

As these will be newborns, all I have made is some receiving blankets. A quick and easy project. I’ll save the bibs for a later date. Anyways, that’s what I’ll be telling the new moms!

Spring may have sprung but it is not quite warm enough here to pull out the shorts and T-shirts yet. (Although, as I’m writing this, it is a comfortable 15*C) Instead, I dug out from my stash The Alex and Olive Top pattern by Sewing Workshop since we received these new fancy light silver zippers. I figured the Olive top would be perfect to showcase the zipper.

As described on the Sewing Workshop site, the Olive is a scoop neck knit pullover with diagonal side seams and exposed decorative back zipper on the diagonal. Curved left back hem detail and open vents in long sleeves. Zipper is a 22″ separating zipper.

I chose to use this knit fabric since it has an underlying silver cast to offset the light grey colour of the zip.

Ok. A separating zip? What the heck for? Does this design need a bigger opening to pull over your head? As you can see from the line drawing, this top has quite a scoop neckline which makes it big enough to pull over your head without needing an additional opening. Given that these new zippers did not separate, I decided to ignore that requirement.

As with all the other Sewing Workshop patterns I have tried, the instructions are well explained and illustrated. However, a sewing instruction I decided to ignore was to baste the back opening together to be later removed so back seam would open. Umm … why? Since that made no sense to me and it did not affect the integrity of the design, I sewed that seam, not basted. And even though I have a cover stitch machine for hemming knits, I did not use it for this garment because of the angles of the vents in the sleeves and back opening.

When I first put this on, I thought the sleeves were too long. But now I quite like them since they remind me of flounced sleeves without being too frilly. Another comment about this garment; I found the sleeves a snug fit. Or else I have Popeye arms from hauling bolts of fabric all day!

Overall, a cute design!

via me.me

Disregarding the fact that spring has not made its appearance yet, we are having our spring sale! Shop online using the sale code SpringFling for 25% off all regular priced fabric (including new arrivals). Check out the sale section for some fabrics at 70% off! Of course, if you are in the area, come by and check out the fabrics in person. Sale continues until March 17, 2019.

I lived in Hong Kong from 1980 to 1984 before moving to British Columbia, Canada. I haven’t been back since so when the opportunity came up to visit, I took it! I knew there were many changes in the country since the early ’80’s, so I was interested to see if I still remembered the places that I had frequented when there.

The visit was scheduled over Chinese New Year, which is good in some ways but not so good in other ways. Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday of the year where many businesses and factories close for 2 weeks. (As one taxi driver explained, many factories were closed for longer this year because the contentious trade talk between China and USA had slowed factory production.) But since I was mainly there for family reasons, shopping was not a priority.

Back in the 70’s and 80’s, the fabric trade was a booming business. Many fabric retail stores lined Nathan Road and they carried everything from cottons to silks to imported woollens and European laces. My family owned three stores; Gala Fabrics Ltd, Illinois and Fourseas Silk Company. Fourseas Silk Company was the largest as it occupied 3 floors in a building on the corner of Nathan Road and Tak Shing Street. I remember playing hide and seek with my siblings among the stacks of fabric and watching the pretty ladies come in and be served tea while they shopped. The city later laid claim to some of the ground floor and basement to provide access for the then new MTR station. The building still stands however, the fabric business has moved to a second floor location on the corner of Nathan Road and Austin Road. I would have liked to go inside to see if I recognized anything, but the current tenant of that space was closed for the holidays.

As is the situation in the West, there are few fabric stores left in Hong Kong. There may be some located in the Sham Shui Po district but everything was closed when I went to check. The family still has a presence in the rag trade in Hong Kong. The current store is Gala Fabrics Ltd located at 186 Nathan Road. It is located on the second floor and carries a selection of silks and fancy laces. Sorry, no quilting cottons here. Instead, this store caters to people requiring fancy gala outfits as there is also an onsite tailor who is knowledgeable in both Western and Asian design.

My eldest uncle is the patriarch of the fabric business however he is no longer active as a business person. He focuses his time on his philanthropic endeavours as he is an active member of Rotary International, the Scout Association of Hong Kong, the Police Auxillary Force, the Junior Police Corp., the Hong Kong Buddist Association as well as the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. But he loves to throw a party! Here, we are enjoying a Chinese New Year feast at the store.

We also got to watch the fireworks celebrating Chinese New Year. However, with the smog in the air and the residual smoke from the fireworks, the sky became so murky, you couldn’t see the light display!

A novel and exciting experience for me personally was going to visit my grandparents’ graves. Traditionally, the girls do not visit as it was the boy’s duty. Even though my father is the youngest of seven, he is the only son who has children. As far as I know, my aunts and therefore their children, my cousins either male or female, have not visited the graves. Gotta love patriarchal laws! However, that ‘rule’ has been relaxed recently since many families do not have sons, especially since the Chinese one child policy.  Little did I know I would have to gird my loins to access the graves since we had to climb all over different areas of the cemetery! I’m not sure if I could find the graves by myself, but thankfully, my cousin knows.

We had the opportunity to visit our old residence. Located in the hills of Hong Kong Island, Braemar Hills was where we called home. And it hasn’t really changed in the years since. The surrounding area has developed a lot though; new schools, more apartment buildings, an increased shopping area.

A huge change that bought bittersweet memories is of the old airport, Kai Tak International. Located in the middle of Kowloon City on a finger of reclaimed land, Kai Tak was an exhilarating experience for the air traveller. And a grey hair inducing experience for the pilot, I’m sure. Afterall, its nickname was Kai Tak Heart Attack.

I remember being able to look into people’s apartments and watch their TV shows as the plane came in to land. Or older gentlemen doing tai chi on their balconies. Don’t believe me on how close the planes came to buildings? Check out the pictures in this article! But as with any growing city, the airport became too small to handle the air traffic and was decommissioned in July 1998. Now it acts as a cruise ship terminal.

What fun it was to visit all these places. And even some of the fashion choices have come back! Leggings and ripped jeans to name a few!

If you get the chance to visit Hong Kong but are dreading the 14 hour flight time, try a business class seat in Hong Kong Airlines. Talk about luxury! I have travelled business class before with other airlines, but that usually involved a slightly wider seat. What I got with Hong Kong Airlines was a fully reclining chair with a lap quilt, real silverware with my meal and my own TV/movie screen. Those 14 hours just flew by! I definitely recommend it. Bon voyage!